1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, generally, to barbecue cooking units and, more especially, to a portable, self-extinguishing barbecue grill having a closure member for sealing engagement with the coal well of the unit in order to smother burning coals following a cooking procedure.
2. Description of the Background Art
Portable cooking units, in the nature of barbecue grills and the like, are of course quite well known. Such devices typically include a coal well or receptable within which charcoal or similar fuel is burned to generate heat for cooking, coupled with some means to support a perforate grill member which positions food to be cooked above that heat source. Typically, the grill members are vertically adjustable in order to position the food at a desired location over the heat source in order to regulate the effective cooking temperature at the grill level accounting for, amongst other things, the variation in temperature provided by the heat source.
It is oftentimes desirable to extinguish the charcoal once a cooking procedure has been concluded. Under many circumstances the coals are not spent after the food items have been grilled and the residual portion can very efficiently be employed for a subsequent cooking operation. Some have approached this objective on an ad hoc basis, for example dousing the burning embers with water for that purpose. However, that is usually not the most effective or efficient approach, inasmuch as the saturation of the coals renders them less fit for subsequent grilling (due, in part, to interaction with the binder constituents or the like used in manufacture of the coals) while also contributing to corrosion and perhaps premature failure of the metallic components constituting the grill structure.
With those thoughts in mind, certain designs have arisen which provide a type of self-extinguishing feature for the charcoal fuel used in these types of barbecue units. A common approach to that end is the provision of some variety of sealing member which effectively closes the coal well and smothers the burning embers upon depletion of oxygen within the sealed or confined space. Along such lines reference is made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,667,446, 3,976,046, and 4,046,132; either providing or otherwise adaptable for providing a type of self-extinguishing feature. Along more general lines, note U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,786,463 and 2,866,883.
While the aforementioned patent references, or at least certain of same, provide units which include a type of self-extinguishing feature for the charcoal embers, the art has yet to provide a highly versatile portable barbecue unit of simple design and construction but one which nonetheless operates quite efficiently. The prior art grills of this ilk tend to be rather complicated affairs of nesting or interrelated members necessary to achieve both a suitable range of cooking positions and the self-extinguishing advantage. Thus, the need exists to achieve the conceptual objective of the prior art, but in a way which is more straightforward and which provides greater versatility for the barbecue unit.